2017 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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Just to remind myself to stay calm, you all aren't having people read over every single secondary essay you write, correct? Some of them I got feedback on (challenge, diversity) but since I applied to 28 school (x2-5 essays per school) schools I can't burden my editor friend or boyfriend with reading all that. The BF will read the ones I really want to go to.

Am I stupid to do things this way? I just can't get eyes on every one when there are >>60 essays


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gribear said:
Just to remind myself to stay calm, you all aren't having people read over every single secondary essay you write, correct? Some of them I got feedback on (challenge, diversity) but since I applied to 28 school (x2-5 essays per school) schools I can't burden my editor friend or boyfriend with reading all that. The BF will read the ones I really want to go to.

Am I stupid to do things this way? I just can't get eyes on every one when there are >>60 essays


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My best buddy of 15+ years volunteered to read all of mine. That or I told him I needed him to. Either way, he writes policy for a living and is mostly reading for grammar. I felt like I need the sanity check. He's only made one or two corrections to the fully polished essays.

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gribear said:
Just to remind myself to stay calm, you all aren't having people read over every single secondary essay you write, correct? Some of them I got feedback on (challenge, diversity) but since I applied to 28 school (x2-5 essays per school) schools I can't burden my editor friend or boyfriend with reading all that. The BF will read the ones I really want to go to.

Am I stupid to do things this way? I just can't get eyes on every one when there are >>60 essays


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My (well educated) wife is looking mine over for grammar/structure. I have a small fraction of the essays you do, though.

For those that you can't get other eyes on, I suggest printing them out for yourself. I always notice things in print that I missed on the monitor.
 
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gribear said:
Just to remind myself to stay calm, you all aren't having people read over every single secondary essay you write, correct? Some of them I got feedback on (challenge, diversity) but since I applied to 28 school (x2-5 essays per school) schools I can't burden my editor friend or boyfriend with reading all that. The BF will read the ones I really want to go to.

Am I stupid to do things this way? I just can't get eyes on every one when there are >>60 essays


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Well, I don't have any secondaries yet....I actually thought I was getting my first earlier today when my phone alert for my med school app cycle e-mail account went off, but it was just AACOMAS about an amex payment issue that didn't even apply to me. I plan to have atleast one set of eyes on every essay. And also to wait atleast a day after I finish them to edit them again myself. I had 8 people go over my personal statement, and 3 go over my activity descriptions. I asked them just to read for typos/spelling/grammar and flow, not content.
 
hurtem&healem said:
My (well educated) wife is looking mine over for grammar/structure. I have a small fraction of the essays you do, though.

For those that you can't get other eyes on, I suggest printing them out for yourself. I always notice things in print that I missed on the monitor.
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Haha that's definitely true too, always print for yourself. I agree!!!
 
I am trying to get eyes on every single one. I have 9 drafts done, but have not submitted any yet. My two weeks is approaching for some schools, but the diversity and challenge essays I have gotten feedback on those and if a school just requires those then I won't need to have people look over my secondaries.


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Wellll shoot. I am having some significant anxiety over the fact that i've submitted several shorter essays without outside eyes . Nothing I can do now. I hav spent significant time on all and re-read many times myself.
 
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Well, my one secondary has been submitted. Now, just waiting on my final LoR. Here's hoping I get it before the August 1 deadline.


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MCAT score in, started prewriting secondaries. Need to think about my school list some more. So hard to tell where I could have a shot. Feeling pretty good about everything at the moment though. I know that won't last, haha.
 
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GUYS!!!!!! I got my first secondary!!!! It's not screened, I just submitted yesterday but it feels like another milestone!!! Real life crying in the library Starbucks line right now
 
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Good job, guys and gals. :thumbup:

Do try to have someone at least proof your essays for you, but don't stress over it. As others have already said, print your drafts out and proof them yourselves if you must. I find it helps to wait a few days in between writing/proofing so you are more likely to notice missed words and the like. Also, one thing we did on SDN when I applied was pair up here and have app buddies. So gribear, if you need someone to read your essays, offer to swap with one of the other posters in this thread for some or all of them (i.e., you read theirs and they read yours). You folks are all going to start running into each other on the interview circuit anyway, so no need to be shy. :)
 
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I got my MCAT score back yesterday. Never thought I'd get to the point where that damn test was behind me. A 509 is such a whiplash-y score. Half of the people I tell praise me on doing well, and the other half suggests I just ruined my chances at anything other than my state school.

I'm aiming to submit my primary app by next week. I know, not ideal timing, but I need to make sure my letter writers get everything in to me by the time my secondaries are due considering none of them have freaking submitted their letters yet. The date I asked them all to have them in by hasn't passed yet, so I'm hoping I won't have to harass them in a few days. On the upside, I met with my ochem professor about a letter today, and it went really well. He couldn't meet sooner because he was off doing research, but he told me not to worry about it because a few weeks was plenty of time for him and he'd love to meet when he got back from his trip. Not worried about him submitting in time at all. He was super enthusiastic and talked my ears off about how much he loves writing letters because it allows him a chance to reflect on his work at the school.
 
Hey everyone! Wanting to join this thread.

What are you guys considering "Non-Trad"? Is it just 2+ years out of school, or life experiences as well? Thanks.
 
Ayy_MadScientist said:
Hey everyone! Wanting to join this thread.

What are you guys considering "Non-Trad"? Is it just 2+ years out of school, or life experiences as well? Thanks.
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Graduated high school in 200x?

edit: Maybe I should say sub-2009. There might be a couple gen-Xers on the thread.
 
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Gah - my DO app was a bit behind on primary submission, so I already feel like I'm behind the ball, but got flooded with secondaries tues until today (20 received 9 to go). Working full time is not conducive to this process. Aiming for 3-4 a day this week. Strange that I was verified MD second day after it opened, but still have mostly md secondaries waiting out there and just started getting them this week


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gribear said:
Am I stupid to do things this way? I just can't get eyes on every one when there are >>60 essays
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I didn't have every single one of mine read, but I did have people go over ones that I found particularly difficult.

That said, happy to do secondary readings or interview help (I can work with you over Skype if you like) for anyone in this thread.

QofQuimica said:
You folks are all going to start running into each other on the interview circuit anyway, so no need to be shy. :)
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Hahaha truth. I met nine SDNers on the trail last year (ten if you include one over Skype), and one is now my roommate here at school. It's pretty cool putting faces to screen names. ;)
 
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I'm liking these II updates!

I mixed up LECOM and LMU DCOM in my school research a while back. I had written DCOM off until this morning when I revisited why I decided not to apply there. Submitted, making it my 28th school applied to. I think I'm finished. All 11 secondaries I have will be in today and then I'm taking a break.
 
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I don't know why I haven't been in this thread yet. Hello fellow non-trads! I am becoming increasingly more stressed about not having submitted my primary yet. I had planned on doing it today but the more I read my personal statement, the more I hate it.
 
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itmeowsback said:
Submitted my primary yesterday and am happy to finally get to the next step of the process! The primary was brutal for me, worse than studying for the MCAT lol.



I would suggest getting a lot of people to look at your essay and give their unbiased opinion. When you work on the same essay for awhile your ability to judge it becomes skewed. I was doubting myself super hard about submitting my essay and was about to change the entire thing but submitted after getting a lot of positive reviews. In retrospect I am very glad I listened to their judgment instead of my own (about the PS at least).
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Yes that is exactly what has been happening to me. I waver between liking it to thinking that I need to scratch it and start over. I'm giving myself until Sunday and then submitting the thing!
 
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Good luck to everyone applying this cycle! I won't be applying until 2018, but you all inspire me. I'll be 28 then. Better late than never though! Keep up the great work ladies and gents!
 
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Has anyone taken CASPer yet? ETSU, Tulane, or NYMC
 
sunshinefl said:
Just found my first post-submission AMCAS typo. It's the year of some awards in the experiences section. :smack:
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Nothing good can come from reading through that after submitting
 
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sunshinefl said:
Just found my first post-submission AMCAS typo. It's the year of some awards in the experiences section. :smack:
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Yeah, nope, no chance in hell I'm reading through any of it at this point. The night before my first interview I will read my PS and skim through the activities. I've already devoted too much time to writing/rewriting all that crap, not gonna waste any more reading it.
 
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Thank you! I assume there are instructions for CASPer with the secondary (I am applying to U of Illinois.)
 
Submitted 9 secondaries today. 12 more to go. Taking the CASPer tomorrow. Hope its not too bad. All I can say is my wallet is hurting really bad.
 
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CASPer complete. Not bad and don't stress about it.

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My current freak out factor is the finances. I absolutely have the ability to (kind of) afford the number of schools I have applied to, but it digs way down into my savings and freaks me the heck out. Combine that with the fact that I'm leaving my current full-time job so I can take some upper-level courses, and my financial anxiety is in full flight. It's really weird having been a financially independent adult for a decade and suddenly having to budget like a student again.
 
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Smash Williams said:
My current freak out factor is the finances. I absolutely have the ability to (kind of) afford the number of schools I have applied to, but it digs way down into my savings and freaks me the heck out. Combine that with the fact that I'm leaving my current full-time job so I can take some upper-level courses, and my financial anxiety is in full flight. It's really weird having been a financially independent adult for a decade and suddenly having to budget like a student again.
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Same here. I budgeted everything for apps and even a bit for moving and stuff, but budgeting it and seeing my bank account dropping are two entirely different feelings. I've always been pretty frugal and I saved a good chunk of money when I was first working at 18, so I've never really had "no money" like I'm about to have. Probably makes me more nervous than anything else in this process.
 
Is anyone else experiencing sudden attachments to schools after researching and filling out their secondaries? It's such a weird feeling and I kind of hate it because I don't want to invest emotionally into any one (or five) school. It's happening though. =/ I refused an offer to visit a certain college town last week because I know I really want to go there and it will just break my heart if I don't get in after falling in love with the place.
 
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brainnurse said:
Is anyone else experiencing sudden attachments to schools after researching and filling out their secondaries? It's such a weird feeling and I kind of hate it because I don't want to invest emotionally into any one (or five) school. It's happening though. =/ I refused an offer to visit a certain college town last week because I know I really want to go there and it will just break my heart if I don't get in after falling in love with the place.
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No but that's only because I already have a favorite!
 
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brainnurse said:
Is anyone else experiencing sudden attachments to schools after researching and filling out their secondaries? It's such a weird feeling and I kind of hate it because I don't want to invest emotionally into any one (or five) school. It's happening though. =/ I refused an offer to visit a certain college town last week because I know I really want to go there and it will just break my heart if I don't get in after falling in love with the place.
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Definitely! And one that has my heart (right there after my current undergrad school, which is my favorite) has a strong preference for in-state students. :( ......I am for sure getting emotional attachments to several schools already lol.
 
Oh gosh, I hope we don't get too heartbroken.

@sunshinefl. we're both Swampland nurses! I hope we interview together. It would be pretty cool to know someone on the trail.
 
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brainnurse said:
Oh gosh, I hope we don't get too heartbroken.@sunshinefl. we're both Swampland nurses! I hope we interview together.
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Not swampland (Gatorville, right?) but I'm beaches, gulf side! Let's do this!!! :clap:
 
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8 DO secondaries in, two I'm waiting on doing because A. my wallet hurts, and B. I don't know if I can afford a $3k deposit at this point if I was lucky enough to get offered an acceptance.
 
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17 secondaries submitted over the weekend, 4 still to do in the waiting pile, and 8 haven't arrived yet (strange my top two MD haven't sent out secondaries yet). It's been a slog since I've been too busy to prewrite much. This weekend was a full hammer down session
 
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mavric1298 said:
17 secondaries submitted over the weekend, 4 still to do in the waiting pile, and 8 haven't arrived yet (strange my top two MD haven't sent out secondaries yet). It's been a slog since I've been too busy to prewrite much. This weekend was a full hammer down session
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Mother of god, how?!

Ad2b said:
Not swampland (Gatorville, right?) but I'm beaches, gulf side! Let's do this!!! :clap:
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Yessss. I'm beaches/gulf-side too, but you know, it's all swampland down here. :D
 
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mavric1298 said:
17 secondaries submitted over the weekend, 4 still to do in the waiting pile, and 8 haven't arrived yet (strange my top two MD haven't sent out secondaries yet). It's been a slog since I've been too busy to prewrite much. This weekend was a full hammer down session
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I'm impressed at your pace!
 
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brainnurse said:
Oh gosh, I hope we don't get too heartbroken.

@sunshinefl. we're both Swampland nurses! I hope we interview together. It would be pretty cool to know someone on the trail.
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Ad2b said:
Not swampland (Gatorville, right?) but I'm beaches, gulf side! Let's do this!!! :clap:
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Well I'm in land-locked Gainesville now.... but I'm from coastal Gulf side!
 
mavric1298 said:
17 secondaries submitted over the weekend, 4 still to do in the waiting pile, and 8 haven't arrived yet (strange my top two MD haven't sent out secondaries yet). It's been a slog since I've been too busy to prewrite much. This weekend was a full hammer down session
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I've got similar numbers (15 AMCAS + 3 TMDSAS secondaries submitted, 4 haven't arrived, one being glared at), but I did them over a span of a couple weeks with extensive pre-writing. I do not envy you one bit. Pr-writing was an absolute godsend for me.
 
brainnurse said:
Mother of god, how?!
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When you are used to working more than full time and going to school full time (and one quarter doing mcat while working while taking physics and physics lab) and have recently semi graduated after 12 straight quarters including summer(walked in commencement but have 1 class left that starts on the 24th for 4 weeks)....you find lots of will power

It was about 8 hours of writing each day, with another 2ish hours on the phone with my various "editors" doing edits on gdrive while talking over points on the phone.

Tonight after work I only got 2 done, but those were Case and Brown, and the Case one was BRUTAL
 
Smash Williams said:
My current freak out factor is the finances. I absolutely have the ability to (kind of) afford the number of schools I have applied to, but it digs way down into my savings and freaks me the heck out. Combine that with the fact that I'm leaving my current full-time job so I can take some upper-level courses, and my financial anxiety is in full flight. It's really weird having been a financially independent adult for a decade and suddenly having to budget like a student again.
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M2 here and I was totally in that boat the whole time I was applying and even up until the summer before school I was seriously considering working another year to save up. I'm honestly glad I didn't because I'm glad I will be closer to my goal of becoming a physician. It is expensive, but that's the nature of the work that you're getting into. I know it's tough, but it will be worth it.
 
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